1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to amorphous alloys containing a rare earth element or elements and which have a high degree of hardness, strength, wear resistance, corrosion resistance and formability.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, rare earth metals have been used as additives for iron-based alloys or the like, or used in the form of intermetallic compounds for magnetic material applications. However, no practical use of rare earth metal-based alloys has been known up to now. As a characteristic property of rare earth metals, they generally have a low tensile-strength of 200 to 300 MPa. When rare earth metals are used as intermetallic compounds, there is a problem of poor formability. Therefore, there has been a strong demand for rare earth metal-based alloys having high strength and superior formability.
Heretofore, when rare earth metals were used in rare earth metal-based alloys, the strength of the alloys is low. When rare earth metals are used in intermetallic compounds, an adequate formability can not be obtained. Therefore, the applications of these alloys have been limited to a narrow range, such as magnetic sintered materials and thin film materials.